


Unbreakable | Harry Potter

by fatecanberewritten



Series: Stars [9]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 09:27:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27848518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fatecanberewritten/pseuds/fatecanberewritten
Summary: "That's one of the things I love most about you. You always get up, no matter how hard you're knocked down.""You make it sound so simple."( hp prisoner of azkaban - deathly hallows )
Relationships: Harry Potter/Original Female Character(s), Sirius Black/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Stars [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1040577
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	1. home

There was something alluring about the Malis farm. Something magical, yet not magic at all. She could feel the heartbeats of three generations. She could feel the life of her grandfather in the skies above their land - how alive his spirit was, though he had died well before she was born. She could feel the youth of her mother - not exactly carefree, but excited - looking for magic around every corner. And, with every breath she took, she could feel the legacy of her family living within her. 

“You sore?”

Lyra Malis turned to her cousin, just a year older than herself. She smiled, reaching out to adjust his goggle-like glasses. “Yes, Casey, I’m sure,” the young girl said, deciphering his unusual speech patterns with ease. “Your mum is completely okay with us exploring.”

“You sore?” he asked again, his tone different, playful, as he tilted his chin down. His eyes were bright blue - the only thing to remind people of his father. 

Thirteen year old Lyra giggled, nodding her head with her cousin. “I’m sure!”

His smile slowly began to widen, and soon enough, he was clapping his hands, stomping his feet, and shaking his head, all with the brightest smile on his face. “Explore!” he called out, and though it sounded more like  _ ‘eh-plore,’  _ Lyra admired his spirit, following his lead as he ran off towards the fields, startling a couple of sheep not far away. 

Lyra was happy to be out with Casey, exploring like they heard their mothers did when they were young, before they lost their father. But each time she took Casey out, she was slightly fearful. The first time they had played without adults around, Casey had fallen into a seizure that rivaled even her mother’s. If it had been just the two of them, she knew that nothing good would have happened. Luckily, however, Ari, the oldest of the cousins, was there as well, taking control of the situation with ease, taking care of his brother while he sent Lyra to get an adult. They didn’t have Ari now, as at fifteen, he had his own friends. As much as she loved just being with Casey, she missed the three of them together.

“Look Lyra!” Casey called out, happily pointing to something in the distance. “Fo-wes! Fo-wes!”

Lyra’s heart sank when she saw what her cousin saw. “We can’t go to the forest, Casey,” Lyra said solemnly. “You know that.”

Her shoulders drooped as she watched Casey disheartedly lower his arm. Though he’s been told of the dangers of the forest, Casey didn’t fully understand why the forest that bordered the Malis property was so forbidden. For the longest time, Lyra hadn’t either, but then she had turned eleven, and had been admitted to the school that lies on the other side of the Forbidden Forest. Truth was put into her mother’s warnings by the classes she had attended, and while she tried to reinforce this with her cousin, he, a Muggle, couldn’t quite understand. 

Lyra walked closer to her cousin, linking her arm with his. “C’mon Casey,” she said with a grin. “Let’s go near my house. We can play on the swing.” With an alternative that Casey actually preferred, the two walked, arm in arm, back towards the houses.

They soon made it to the dirt road that connected the main farm house and the cottage that Lyra and her mother stayed in. Hearing the door of the main house open, Casey and Lyra looked over to it. 

“Bubbe!” Casey called out, jumping in excitement when he saw their grandmother. Even from a distance, Lyra could see the older woman’s face brighten. 

Their grandmother waved before placing her hands back on her hips, watching her feet as she stepped down from the porch. She was in her gardening attire. “Hey you two!” she called out to them. “What are you troublemakers getting into?”

“Oh!” responded Casey, turning to Lyra, reacting as if they had been caught doing something they weren't supposed to be doing, but yet he had a grin on his face. Lyra laughed.

“Tell Bubbe what we’re gonna do!” Lyra encouraged her cousin. Anne Malis smiled at this interaction, grateful for such wonderful grandchildren who cared for one another so much. 

“We gon go swing!” Casey happily exclaimed.

“Alright,” answered the grandmother, “have fun you two! I’ll be in the garden if you need me!”

With a wave, Lyra and Casey turned towards the cottage, it’s roof just barely in sight on the other side of the hill. As they climbed and came to the top of the hill, Casey stopped to catch his breath, and Lyra took that moment to take in the sight of her home. Bordered by the hill they stood on now to the west, and the Forbidden Forest to the east and north, the stone cottage lay nestled comfortably between the two. To the south was a view of the country unmatched by any other spot on the farm. It was a treasure to her. 

The cottage itself was fairly small - a kitchen, dining room, and living room on the ground floor, and two bedrooms and a locked door on the second.

“Ready?” Casey started, his ‘r’s sounding more like ‘w’s. Lyra turned to see his eyes focused on her, right foot slightly in front of his left, ready to race.

“Set,” Lyra answered, mirroring his position.

“Go!” he finished. And they were off.

Lyra could very easily get ahead of her cousin, as most people could, but she held back, staying neck and neck with him to encourage him. Normally, Casey’s running pace was that of Lyra’s brisk walk - but he was quicker. Ari must have kept his word and started training him for the Special Olympics.

As they neared the large oak tree that supported the tire swing, Lyra wasn’t sure if she was even letting him win anymore. Casey was a full step ahead of her, and was the first to slap his hand against the old tree. “I win!” he shouted in victory.

“You got fast, Casey!” Lyra noted between labored breaths. Casey said nothing, but still, he beamed with pride. “And you know the deal,” she motioned to the swing, “winner goes first.”

He clapped his hands together again, and was quickly on the swing. Lyra went behind him, but instead of pushing him the normal way on the swing, she took a hold of the tire and swung it in a wide circle. Casey was cackling almost immediately.

His laughter almost always resulted in her own, and the disappointment of not being able to explore the forest was almost completely from their minds. Of course, until Lyra looked over to it, only thirty or so yards from where they stood now, and saw something emerging from it.

Lyra stopped pushing Casey at once, stepping back slightly to be out of his path. Her lips were slightly parted as her wide eyes took in the sight of a large, black, furry creature standing at the edge of the shadowy forest. Maybe the oddest thing about it was that the creature was staring right back.

“Puppy!” Casey called out, his tennis shoes touching the ground to stop his swinging. Lyra was even more shaken when she realized that Casey was right - it  _ was  _ a dog, or puppy, as he called all dogs no matter the age or size. The fear slowly faded from Lyra. 

_ It’s just a dog, _ she thought.  _ There are no magical dogs, at least none that are dangerous. It must have come up from the village. _

“I wan go pet the puppy,” Casey said loudly, pulling Lyra from her thoughts. She looked over to him and was met with pleading eyes. Casey loved dogs though neither of their moms have ever allowed them to have one.

Lyra placed a hand on her cousin’s shoulder. “I’ll go first and make sure it’s friendly,” she smiled.

As she slowly began to approach the dog, it sat, causing Lyra to raise her eyebrows. It must be someone’s pet, or else it surely would’ve run. A couple of steps from it, she bent down to appear less threatening, and stuck out her hand for it to sniff. “Hi there,” she said in a gentle tone.

The dog reached its wiggling nose out to meet her hand, and soon after, it’s tail began thumping against the ground. It leaned its head into Lyra’s hand, and she very quickly felt comfortable with the dog.

“You must be a ways from home,” she said to it, kneeling down. “Your family probably misses you. Do you have a - ?” She felt around the dog’s neck, but found no collar. “I guess not.” 

Whining slightly, the dog fell against her, rolling over to expose its belly. She discovered two things - one, the dog was a he, and two, his ribs were extremely prominent. The poor thing was starving.

“Lyra?”

The sudden frantic cry had come from the top of the hill, from the mouth of her Aunt Delaney. All three of them - Lyra, the dog, and Casey, still on the swing - looked to Delaney, as if caught doing something terrible. The dog was quickly on his feet with its grey eyes fixed on the woman, though he didn’t growl, as Lyra half expected him to.

“Lyra, get away from him, now!” she called, nearly running down the hill. “Casey!” she looked to her son, who sat frozen. “Casey, come to me. Lyra,  _ now!” _

“Aunt Delaney - ”

_ “Now!” _

Lyra was on her feet, suddenly frightened. She didn’t understand what was wrong. She took a step towards her aunt and cousin, but so did the dog.

_ "Get away from her!”  _

Lyra was even more confused than before as she realized that her aunt was screaming now at the dog. With one more innocent glance at Lyra, the dog turned and ran back into the forest.


	2. panic

Lyra Malis had never seen her aunt look quite as frantic as she did that day. She kept a firm grip on the hands of Lyra and Casey as the three nearly ran back to the farm house. Every couple of seconds, Aunt Delaney looked sharply over her shoulder, making sure the dog was not following them. 

Casey was terrified but silent as he stumbled alongside his mother and cousin, and Lyra, while fear was prevalent, was confused more than anything. It was just a dog. 

Anne Malis, crouched in her garden as she tended to her flowers, quickly stood at the quick-moving sight of her daughter and grandchildren. At the look on all of their faces, she began to fear for the worst. “What’s happened?” she called out nervously.

“Where’s Delphi?” answered Delaney.

“Still in town with Wyatt, I think. What’s - ”

“We need to get inside, and call Wyatt. Now.”

Anne’s face paled, but she nodded, and followed the three of them into the house, closing and locking the door behind them. Safely inside, Delaney stopped at last, turning and kneeling down to hug both Lyra and Casey. Casey almost immediately started crying.

“I don’t understand,” Lyra said immediately. She pulled herself out of her aunt’s grip. “It was just a  _ dog.” _

“Dog?” her grandmother asked quickly, standing by the phone. “What kind of dog?” Delaney gave her a simple look in answer, and Anne immediately began dialing.

“Why does it matter?” cried Lyra, looking from her grandmother to her aunt. “It wasn’t mean, or aggressive at all! What’s so wrong with it?”

Casey was still crying, wrapped in his mother’s arms; her grandmother was urgently talking on the phone, trying to reach her uncle; but Delaney was silent for a moment, as if she was holding herself back from saying something.

Finally, she spoke. “That’s something you need to hear from your mother.”

By the time her uncle’s pickup had pulled up in front of the house, Lyra had taken her aunt’s place at Casey’s side, creating a new handshake, though they already had several, in an attempt to distract him from the tension that filled the room. Aunt Delaney was stationed at the front door, their Bubbe at the back, each armed with a bat and a frying pan respectively, staring out the window in anticipation of something horrible. Though Lyra wanted to dismiss this all as an overreaction, their actions had her just as fearful as she had first been, though she was even more confused now.

Even before the truck had fully stopped in front of the house, Aunt Delaney was out to meet them. Lyra stood and hastened over to the opened door just in time to see her mother nearly knocked over by her sister as she wrapped her arms around her. As quickly as the hug had begun, it had ended, her aunt gripping her mother just below the shoulders, speaking to her intensely. Lyra so badly wanted to get closer to hear what they were saying, but her uncle Wyatt was already in the doorway, crouching down to hug her, as if he couldn’t believe she was alive.

“Thank God you’re okay,” Uncle Wyatt breathed. 

“Why wouldn’t I be okay?” Her voice was getting desperate now. She looked fiercely into her uncle’s nearly black eyes. She knew that if there was anyone on this farm she could break into telling her what had happened, it was her uncle. “Please, Uncle Wyatt, tell me what’s going on.”

Casey had called to him before he could answer, giving him an easy out. He gave her a sympathetic smile before going to comfort Casey, giving her nothing at all to go off of.

Lyra turned back to the door, watching as her mother tried, unsuccessfully, to calm her aunt.  _ Fine,  _ thought Lyra,  _ I’ll go to the source.  _ She quickly stepped outside, running past her grandmother’s garden to meet her aunt and mother.

“You weren’t  _ there,  _ Delphi,” her aunt was saying. “You have no way of knowing if it wasn’t - ”

“If it wasn’t what?”

The women fell silent as they both turned to look at Lyra. Delaney turned back to her sister after a moment, crossing her arms over her chest and cocking her eyebrows at her sister. 

“Nothing,” Delphi Malis finally answered. “Your aunt was just overreacting.”

Delaney scoffed almost immediately, storming into the house. Delphi opened her mouth slightly as if to call after her sister, but decided to turn her attention to her daughter, forcing a smile.

“Mum, what’s going on?” demanded the girl. “Everyone’s acting as if I’d met a murderer.”

Delphi inhaled sharply at her daughter’s choice of words, quickly hiding it with a short chuckle. “Nothing like that, bubelah. Let’s go inside, and you can tell me what happened.”

“No,” said Lyra sternly. She could tell that her mother was shocked, and not without reason. Lyra had always been a fairly obedient child, mainly because her mother never asked too much of her, but she was angry. Her anxiety had been going through the roof from the moment her aunt had found her with the dog and she has had no respite since. She was entirely in the dark, and she just wanted a shred of light to find her way back. “Mamme, it was just a dog. Why is there so much panic over a dog?”

Lyra watched with sharp eyes as her mother sighed. With shaky hands, she put the tailgate of the pickup down, pushed herself up to sit on it, and motioned for Lyra to follow. After a moment, she did. The two looked out to the farm, the setting sun mixing pinks and purples with the sky’s fading blues. “It’s about your father.”

She quickly looked back to her mother. “My father?”

Lyra knew hardly anything about her father, and she didn’t care to know anything more. Even when she was young, Lyra didn’t care to know much about her father. All fond thoughts she had of the absent man were tarnished when she had first heard of the birth father of her cousins, a horrible man who had abused not only Delaney but Ari, and especially Casey. But even with that, her family seemed more fearful of the man that had brought her into the world. To save herself the pain, Lyra wanted to know nothing about him.

Her mother nodded. “The dog, it - ” she paused. “Aunt Delaney thought it looked a lot like one your father always had with him. She thought that maybe it meant. . .”

Delphi trailed off as she looked at her daughter and saw the horror written on her face as she began to understand what her mother was saying. It pained her more than anything. “He’s close by?” choked Lyra.

“No,” Delphi quickly answered. “There’s no way he’d be close by, Lyra. You’re right, that dog you saw - it was just a dog.”

Lyra sat very still. Her mother was telling her exactly what she had been telling everyone - that it was nothing to be afraid of, just a  _ dog.  _ But she now felt a sense of doubt.

“He’s fine, Delaney, he’s with the Richardsons!” 

Mother and daughter turned to find Delaney bounding out of the house, keys in hand, her husband trailing behind her. Delaney looked beyond angry.

“You don’t get to decide if my son is fine!” she yelled back at Wyatt, but she quickly turned her attention to Delphi. “Something as serious as this, and  _ neither  _ of you think to bring Ari home with you?”

Delphi hopped off the back of the truck. “I told you, it’s  _ not  _ serious.”

Almost as soon as she had said this, however, a  _ crack  _ was heard across the farm, and all turned to see several people appear out of thin air. Lyra quickly got down from the truck. As the only witch of the family, she was entirely shocked to see half a dozen witches and wizards appear on her family’s very Muggle farm. She went to step forward, as surely they were there regarding her, but her mother grabbed her arm, stopping her.

“Miss Malis?” the one up front started, looking to her mother instead of her. “We’re with the Ministry of Magic.”


	3. deranged

Lyra sat very close to her mother, nuzzled between her and her grandmother. She wanted to shout about her confusion to the Aurors that invaded her home, but fear kept her quiet. Her hands were clasped in her mothers, and her grandmother had her arm wrapped around her shoulders. It was as if they were protecting her, but she didn’t understand why she needed protection. 

Her aunt had Casey on her lap on the other side of her grandmother, the five on them squished on the little couch. Delaney was tapping her foot quickly on the ground, a nervous tick Lyra had never minded before, but as it was now shaking the entire couch, Lyra minded. Only one Auror was left in the sitting room with them - a tall, broad-shouldered black man who had introduced himself as Kingsley Shacklebolt. One had gone with Wyatt to pick up Ari, but the rest were wondering around outside, looking for something.

The door opened quickly, and one of the wizards gave only a brief glance at Shacklebolt before he made his way upstairs. “I don’t know how you all do things,” squeaked out Anne, “but normally you need a warrant before searching a house!”

Shacklebolt, who had been looking over paperwork, looked up at this. “Sorry about that ma’am,” he said, pulling a sheet from his stack and handing it to Anne. Lyra looked over at it, seeing the Ministry’s seal at the bottom. “Slipped my mind to give you that.”

“What’s this all about?” broke in Lyra’s mother. Though she hid it well, Lyra could tell that she was on edge.

Shacklebolt’s eyes drifted over to her. He walked closer, sitting in what was normally Uncle Wyatt’s chair, closest to her mother. “Miss Malis, when was the last time you’ve had contact with Sirius Black?”

Lyra felt her grandmother’s grip tighten around her shoulders, and as it did, she slowly began to understand. The dog. Her father.

Delphi was quiet for a moment, holding the gaze of the Auror apparently interrogating her. Eventually, she scoffed. “Twelve years ago, I’d say. Just before he got locked up in Azkaban.”

At her mother’s words, Lyra’s face paled. She couldn’t believe it. All this time, she thought her father was a Muggle, like the rest of them - a bad man, from the way they refused to talk about him, but a  _ Muggle. _

“You’ve had no other contact?”

“No!” cried her mother. “Why?”

Shacklebolt sat back in his chair, looking at the five of them, his eyes settling on Lyra for a moment or so. “His cell was found empty yesterday evening.”

Anne said something in Yiddish Lyra didn’t understand, wrapping her other arm around her granddaughter, one hand finding her daughter’s shoulder. Delphi was speechless, and Lyra was on the verge of tears, but Delaney was not afraid to speak up. “Are you accusing us of helping him escape?” she demanded loudly. Shacklebolt looked at her as if she was a bear he had accidentally awoken. “Of harboring a deranged murderer?”

“Delaney - ” Delphi tried to cut in.

“No, this is  _ ridiculous!  _ Have a look around! Search all our grounds if you must! That man mercilessly killed  _ twelve  _ people. Not twelve of you people, twelve of  _ our  _ people, and you have the nerve to ask us if we’d help him?”

_ “Delaney!” _

At her mother’s cry, Delaney finally looked away from the Auror to find Lyra shaking with her cries. 

Lyra felt her world crumbling around her. She’d figured her father wasn’t a saint, but a mass murderer? Killing twelve Muggles? What were they going to tell her next, he was a Death Eater? And a man like that - and with a daughter like her? Half Muggle? Lyra was suddenly terrified.

Shacklebolt was watching what was playing out in front of him carefully. “I don’t believe that any of you would help him, but we can’t leave any stone unturned.”

Another Auror came in at the same time the one that had gone upstairs came back down. “No sign of him, Shacklebolt,” said the one who had just come in. “But Holland’s found a locked door in the other house. Only looks to be a closet, but she wanted your go-ahead before she got into it.”

“I have a key for it,” Delphi spoke up. “It’s got my safe in it. I’d prefer to be there when it’s opened, if that’s alright with you.”

“Of course,” said Shacklebolt, standing. He motioned for Delphi to stand, but as she went to do so, Lyra’s grip on her hand tightened. 

“Mum, wait - ” she cried.

“It’s alright, Ly,” she leaned down and kissed her forehead, “everything’s alright. I’ll only be a few minutes.”

Reluctantly, Lyra let her mother go, watching as she and the three Aurors left the farmhouse. When they were gone, Lyra fully broke down into sobs.

She brought her knees to her chest and tucked her head into them, her world going black. Her grandmother’s frail hand was rubbing circles on her back, and while she was thankful for that, it didn’t help much. Eventually, her aunt had Casey take her place on the couch so she could move to Lyra’s other side, wrapping her arms around her, and tucking her own head next to her niece’s. “I’m so sorry you had to find out that way,” Delaney whispered to her. Lyra wanted to say something, but another wave of tears was all she gave as a response. Her aunt continued, “but you’re safe with us, Lyra. We’re not going to let him get to you.”

Lyra pushed her aunt off of her and stood, turning to face her. “Oh I’m safe, am I?” Her face was wet with her tears, but in this newfound anger, she hardly noticed. “How much do you know about Azkaban, Aunt Delaney? That’s where they send the  _ worst of the worst.  _ I probably wouldn’t be protected from a normal murderer, but he’s not that, is he? What was the word you used? Deranged?  _ And  _ he’s a wizard. What do you know about magic? How can you say that you can protect me?”

Finished with her diatribe, Lyra looked around at the shocked faces of her family members. Before she or anyone else could say anything more, Lyra ran upstairs and locked herself in her grandmother’s room. 


End file.
